Oct 16 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday condemned US President Donald Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, called Moscow’s stance a “parody” of peace negotiations and welcomed the prospect of a greater role in talks for European allies he called “real leaders”.
Zelenskiy told a European Union summit in Brussels that Russia did not want peace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, wearing a military uniform during a visit to a command post, said Moscow was establishing a “security zone” inside Ukraine along the border, a move he deemed non-negotiable in any future talks with Kyiv.
Trump said he believed neither he nor Elon Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing access this week to Musk’s Starlink satellite service, an important element of defence against Russian strikes. Trump said he had a good relationship with Zelenskiy, despite the latest exchange of barbs with the Ukrainian leader.
In Brussels, EU leaders rallied around Zelenskiy after Trump again criticised Ukraine, calling its strikes on Russian refineries a “disgrace”.
The EU was hosting Zelenskiy at one of the most difficult moments for Ukraine, with Russian missiles and drones raining down on Ukrainian cities and fears that the US could pull back intelligence-sharing and weapons support from Kyiv.
Zelenskiy showed little sign of softening his stance toward Washington.
Trump blindsided Zelenskiy last weekend by announcing that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities. Facing midterm elections next month, Trump has blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for pushing up energy prices that could cost his Republican party its thin majorities in the US Senate and House of Representatives.
Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery southeast of Moscow on Thursday, after Zelenskiy declared that Kyiv was abandoning the energy ceasefire that Trump had announced.
The US diesel deal with Russia angered Ukraine and its European allies.
“And now we can see how cash will start flowing back into Russia through the diesel deal,” Zelenskiy told reporters.
“This diesel deal will never be enough to offset the impact of the Strait of Hormuz on global markets. But it will put more money straight into Putin’s pocket to fund this war.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said the deal “is not good for anyone. It sends a negative signal. It is an element of division and doubt.”
STALLED PEACE TALKS
Zelenskiy accused Putin of not being interested in any sort of peace talks.
“Putin does not want peace talks at the moment, in any form,” he said. “He’s playing with words, claiming they respond… Quite simply, it looks like a parody of a genuine desire to end the war.”
Putin struck a hawkish and confident tone in addressing senior commanders on the need for security zones in response to Ukraine’s 2024-25 incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region.
“Our goal is to ensure the absolute security of Russia’s border regions for the future, and we do not plan to make this a subject for potential peace negotiations with Ukraine,” he said in comments broadcast on Russian television.
The Kremlin said last week that Ukraine had undermined the possibility of an immediate resumption of peace talks after it had hit Moscow with drones during last month’s Russian parliamentary election.
Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, said Russia and the US were discussing a range of joint projects, including nuclear-powered data centres following the agreement on diesel.
On Friday, the Kremlin said Putin had spoken with Pope Leo and agreed to cooperate after the pontiff asked him to help get vital supplies into the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Oleshky.
In his comments in Brussels, Zelenskiy said the operation of Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink, had improved but was not yet fully restored, adding the disruption placed civilians at risk.
Trump, speaking to reporters in Washington before heading off to attend a rally in Georgia, denied he or Elon Musk were behind the reduction in the system’s capability.
“It wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon, and from what I understand it’s the same as it’s always been,” he said.
Asked about his relationship with Zelenskiy, he said: “I think it’s good. I want him to do one thing: settle the war.”
Two industry sources told Reuters that the Ryazan oil refinery had suspended operations at one of its primary crude distillation units following Ukraine’s drone attack on Thursday.
“All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that’s a disgrace,” Trump said in an interview on Thursday with the Newsmax news outlet.
Russia has also publicly acknowledged the drone attack on a refinery and broadcast images on state media, breaking with its usual practice in order to play up the incident.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer, Andrew Gray, Dmitry Antonov, Yuliia Dysa, Steve Holland, Jasper Ward and Trevor Hunnicutt, Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by David Gregorio)
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